DrSamantha Dawson
Senior Research Fellow
Faculty of Health/School of Medicine/Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation
Orcid identifier0000-0002-4701-1220 (opens in a new tab)
- Senior Research FellowFaculty of Health/School of Medicine/Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation
- HERB, Health, Education and Research Building (HERB), Level 1, 285 Ryrie Street, Geelong
RESEARCH INTERESTS
My research focuses on the intersection of perinatal diet quality, the gut microbiome, and early child development, with a particular emphasis on scalable, evidence-based interventions.
GRANTS
- GRANTFoundations of a Resilient Microbiome: The Barwon Infant Study2 Mar 2026 - 1 Mar 2027People funded by this grant:
- Vuillermin P,
- Mcgee S,
- Sominsky L,
- O'Hely M,
- Dawson S
- GRANTA midwife-delivered prenatal dietary intervention to prevent perinatal depression and child neurocognitive vulnerability in regional and rural communities: a randomised controlled trial1 Jan 2026 - 31 Dec 2030People funded by this grant:
- Vuillermin P,
- Dawson S,
- Jacka F,
- Alston L,
- Sominsky L
- FELLOWSHIPNutritional Psychiatry: supporting healthy eating in pregnancy to benefit child mental and brain health1 Jan 2026 - 31 Dec 2030People funded by this grant:
- Samantha Dawson
- GRANTUsing placental transcriptomics for molecular detection and improved outcomes in autism1 Jul 2025 - 30 Jun 2027People funded by this grant:
- Vuillermin P,
- Ponsonby A-L,
- Sominsky L,
- Saffery R,
- Drummond K
- GRANTZenZone: A randomised placebo-controlled trial of fermented dairy for adolescent depression.1 Jun 2025 - 31 May 2027People funded by this grant:
- McGuinness A,
- Marx W,
- Dawson S,
- Gauci S,
- Hockey M
- GRANTZenZone: A randomised placebo-controlled trial of fermented dairy for adolescent depression.1 Jun 2025 - 31 May 2027People funded by this grant:
- McGuinness A,
- Marx W,
- Dawson S,
- Gauci S,
- Hockey M
- GRANTExploring Gut-Brain Connections: Investigating Modifiable Microbial Determinants of Neurodevelopment in Mid-Childhood: A Twin Study Approach1 Oct 2024 - 31 Aug 2026People funded by this grant:
- Craig J,
- Silk T,
- Stephenson G,
- Dawson S,
- O'Hely M
- GRANTThe effect of a gut-focused dietary smartphone app for pregnant women on the infant gut microbiome: Bugs & Bumps RCT1 Jun 2023 - 30 Nov 2024People funded by this grant:
- Dawson S,
- Jacka F,
- Vuillermin P,
- Young C,
- Alston L
- INTERNAL GRANTCharacterising the gut microbiome in the Curbing Anxiety and depression using Lifestyle Medicine (CALM) trial: the CALM-MB studyInstitute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation (IMPACT), Deakin University1 Jan 2023 - 31 Dec 2023People funded by this grant:
- Mcguinness A,
- Jacka F,
- O'Neil A,
- Loughman A,
- Dawson S
- FELLOWSHIP‘Eating for the gut microbiota’: a novel approach for improving diet quality in pregnant womenDeakin University1 Jan 2022 - 31 Dec 2023People funded by this grant:
- Dawson S
- INTERNAL GRANTMetagenomic profiling for the Healthy Parents, Healthy Kids StudyInstitute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation (IMPACT), Deakin University1 Jan 2019 - 31 Dec 2019People funded by this grant:
- Jacka F,
- Dawson S